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PRINCESS CRUISERS: HOW ARE THINGS WHERE YOU ARE?!


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I slowly strolled from my bus stop to my office on a beautiful Tuesday morning, taking advantage of all the time I had before I was confined to my cubicle for the rest of the day. I sat at my computer grinding out grant agreement after grant agreement as it was busy season. I would take occasional breaks to gaze out my window for a view that stretched all the way out to sea. Suddenly a loud bang echoed through the canyons of Lower Manhattan. "Is that thunder?" asked the person in an adjacent cubicle. Before I could reply, the secretary screamed that something had hit one of the World Trade Center Towers. We all ran around the corner to witness the sight from our vantage point 27 floors up and 3 blocks away. We watched in horror as people jumped to their deaths from the doomed tower because it was the easier way to die. Particularly heart wrenching was the man and woman who jumped holding hands. Then the second plane hit. I discussed with my co-workers when we got back to the office 10 days later that we all saw the second plane coming but it didn't sink in until it hit. The walk up to midtown was long, only pausing to watch the towers crumble. Finally got a ferry boat to New Jersey where friends got me to my car at a park and ride. I wondered as I pulled out about the fate of my fellow commuters whose cars were still there. I finally got home to a tearful reunion with my new bride.

 

Twenty years have passed, memories fade but mine never will. God bless the first responders who ran toward danger and their families as well as the families of the victims and God Bless America.

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8 minutes ago, Thrak said:

We both got our flu shots yesterday.

We both got our Moderna booster yesterday.   Some side effects but relatively minor (the 2nd dose packed quite a punch for us both, so we were concerned for that.  Happily this one was quite easy).   Feeling good today.

 

Flu shots in October for us 🙂

 

Mary

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32 minutes ago, Mary loves to travel said:

We both got our Moderna booster yesterday.   Some side effects but relatively minor (the 2nd dose packed quite a punch for us both, so we were concerned for that.  Happily this one was quite easy).   Feeling good today.

 

Flu shots in October for us 🙂

 

Mary

 

I didn't realize they were doing Moderna boosters yet.

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52 minutes ago, Thrak said:

 

I didn't realize they were doing Moderna boosters yet.

Thrak,

 

we got our at CVS; Walgreens is also offering them.   My cousin got hers at Kaiser.   You must self-identify as "immuno compromised", which at our age includes a pretty broad range of conditions.

 

Mary

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Flu shots scheduled for Tuesday.  We’re just 6 months out from our second Moderna shot, but I’ll be aggressively pursuing when it looks like we can move forward.    Interesting to hear Mary’s minor side effects and would like to hear of others’ experiences as more start getting the jabs.  

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On 9/10/2021 at 6:04 PM, Doug R. said:

I slowly strolled from my bus stop to my office on a beautiful Tuesday morning, taking advantage of all the time I had before I was confined to my cubicle for the rest of the day. I sat at my computer grinding out grant agreement after grant agreement as it was busy season. I would take occasional breaks to gaze out my window for a view that stretched all the way out to sea. Suddenly a loud bang echoed through the canyons of Lower Manhattan. "Is that thunder?" asked the person in an adjacent cubicle. Before I could reply, the secretary screamed that something had hit one of the World Trade Center Towers. We all ran around the corner to witness the sight from our vantage point 27 floors up and 3 blocks away. We watched in horror as people jumped to their deaths from the doomed tower because it was the easier way to die. Particularly heart wrenching was the man and woman who jumped holding hands. Then the second plane hit. I discussed with my co-workers when we got back to the office 10 days later that we all saw the second plane coming but it didn't sink in until it hit. The walk up to midtown was long, only pausing to watch the towers crumble. Finally got a ferry boat to New Jersey where friends got me to my car at a park and ride. I wondered as I pulled out about the fate of my fellow commuters whose cars were still there. I finally got home to a tearful reunion with my new bride.

 

Twenty years have passed, memories fade but mine never will. God bless the first responders who ran toward danger and their families as well as the families of the victims and God Bless America.

I've spent the last couple of weeks reading every post in this thread.  I've really enjoyed everyone's observations over the last 18 months.  It was really interesting reading everything knowing what was to come.  My sister's and I really love to cruise and can't wait for our adventure on the Majestic Princess on October 30th to Mexico.  
 
Doug, I can't believe what you must have had to do in order to get home that day.  Prior to my retirement I worked in the financial industry and I had visited the Twin Towers a couple of times on business.  I am very thankful that I had those opportunities to go to the top and also the chance to visit the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (we had a connection, and now you can't even do that anymore).  I thought I was having a rough time getting home from LA as it took me 3 hours to go 18 miles.  At least I knew I was pretty safe even though they evacuated our building.  But you must have really been scared, even if you were three blocks away.  Unfortunately, the sights and sounds from that day will be with you forever.  Thank you for sharing your experience with us, Kat  
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On 9/10/2021 at 9:04 PM, Doug R. said:

... Twenty years have passed, memories fade but mine never will. God bless the first responders who ran toward danger and their families as well as the families of the victims and God Bless America.

I was 500 miles away (central NC), have seen plenty of unnerving sights in my life (20 years military and more) ... but I was watching live TV when the second one hit. I still remember oh-too-well how my knees buckled right out from under me. Luckily I was standing right next to a chair. I can't even imagine how it was for you and others around you.

 

You say "memories" but I can easily imagine a residual sense of "nightmare" whenever it comes to mind. But you "walked away" and I hope that always overrides every other recollection or feeling. God bless.

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Cruise-heavy-on-the-brain is how it is for me today in NC, with cruises upcoming on Celebrity, RCI, and now (just booked) Caribbean Princess in Nov 2022. Still trying to get my first cruise on Princess coz my only other actual booking, November 2020, was you-know-what. Didn't happen.

 

Cool as a cucumber, relatively speaking for mid-September. 80s today and into the near future. Rain coming but today is positively gorgeous. That's all I got, don't wanna spoil the mood 😀

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8 hours ago, Moonarino said:

Cool as a cucumber, relatively speaking for mid-September. 80s today and into the near future. Rain coming but today is positively gorgeous. That's all I got, don't wanna spoil the mood 😀

I don't know what part of Central NC you're in, but my part was *humid*! I've been mall-walking and it was as humid inside as outside. 🥵 I can't wait for fall and lower humidity, even if we do have to get through a bit of rain first.

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  • 2 weeks later...

A spectacular fall day with a sunny, dry, low 80s afternoon in store.  We’re heading north for lunch with 3 dear friends outside on their deck - the first time face-to-face with pals in 18 months.  Excited and oddly nervous to be out of the box and interacting with even a tiny group of people and our first meal outside of the house since quarantine began.  
 

Outside yesterday and came face to face with a HUGE robustly-legged yellow bodied spider with a massive new web stretching down between our bedroom shutter and roofline.  A cartoon moment when I first saw this massive spider shadow against the house and then the real critter with a rounded body at least an inch in diameter, with those front legs rearing up defensively. Ewwww - danced back and I admit I shrieked like a little girl.  It’s way too big for a fly swatter to take down… hitting it with the car might work but Phil said no, leave it alone.  Well fine, but he better hope it doesn’t decide to seek a way inside for the winter.  

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We disembarked our first cruise since October, 2019 yesterday. It was AH-MAY-ZING!!!!!

 

Check-in, including checking into our muster station, was crazy simple and fast. We exited our cab at 10:44. We had drinks in our hands by 11:52. Boarding was supposed to officially start at 12. We’d already watched the safety video at the airport before catching a cab to the port. 
 

There were fewer than 640 passengers onboard, with just over 800 crew. We had a small ship experience with big ship amenities on the spotlessly clean Celebrity Millennium. We’ve always had fantastic service on Celebrity, and it was even more amazing this time. We only did one excursion, and it was fantastic! We saw lots of black bears fattening up on salmon eggs and brains for the winter. 
 

We are currently at a hotel in Seattle, and will board the Majestic Princess tomorrow for another great week in Alaska, including Glacier Bay. 
 

We will fly back to SoCal and re-board the Majestic three days later, after it dead-heads down to LA. We will try Club Class on that 3-day cruise to see if we think it’s worth the extra cost for a longer cruise at some point in the future. Our TA is doing that one as a guest of Princess, with meetings onboard. We are tagging along, with a good fare, just for kicks. 
 

Being onboard, it feels like we were in the safest place on earth. The protocols are working. The way they handle the inevitable and very rare positive test onboard is spot-on, and we got to experience it in action. Several crew told us that they are using protocols far stricter than what CDC is requiring. One example is that all crew are antigen tested weekly and PCR tested monthly. It was wonderful to be surrounded by people who have chosen to do the right things to protect others, as well as themselves. 
 

This is what our world could be like if more of us took things seriously, and if we humans do the right thing and help get the whole world vaccinated. 
 

We booked more cruises onboard the Millennium, and might just do the same thing on the Majestic. 
 

I hope you all will be cruising soon! 

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I am dealing with not being on a ship today.  Three good friends just boarded the GRAND this morning and I wish we were with them.  I am sure this is the first Princess ship out of San Pedro so it is exciting.  We might have been with them but husband had minor surgery this week so staying close to home.  Our first post pandemic cruise is scheduled on the MAJESTIC on October 30--then we have five other cruises planned including on the DISCOVER.   

 

MamaFej-know you are going to enjoy Club Class.  When friends kept talking about CC, I seriously did not think we would become addicted to it but now it is the only cabins we book.  Like the saying, if you don't fly first class, your kids will.  

 

No antigen tests anywhere near us so we had to book a PCR test.  In fact, when I typed in our zip code, Walgreen pharmacies in Washington state showed for antigen test-crazy!.  Those friends on ship used the same Walmart and test results did not get to them until 9 last night.   

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@DormMom I’m on board the Grand also.  A bit of “horn wars” between the Ruby and the Grand when we departed.

@MamaFej You sound like me!  I was on the Serenade OTS for the last two weeks in August.  I flew home and received a great offer for the Ovation for the next week.  Booked on Monday, flew to Seattle on Friday for another Alaska trip.  I flew home yesterday and boarded the Grand today.  Life is great!!!

scheduled on the Millennium in October.  One of my favorite ships!  

Who was your Captain?

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Hi,  haven't been on here for a long time. 

I've moved to the Gold Coast in Queensland (Australia) and I have to say we have been blessed with very low Covid numbers and few lockdowns. I know a lot of other people haven't been so fortunate so I am trying to help where I can by way of donations (both time and money). 

New Zealand opened for a short time to us but now closed again. 

I have Princess cruise credits which run out in May so I will probably book a New Zealand cruise, hoping things open up next year. I'm not holding much hope of getting anywhere else next year. 

Stay safe everyone. 

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Greetings to all! This thread kind of died in recent days. not much going around here since we returned from Atlantic Beach North Carolina, this time we were not chased out by a hurricane. With the advent of the fall season we are busy going to our grandkids games, girls in field hockey and boys in football. There are a lot of fall festivals in local communities in the coming weeks. Although weather is cooling a bit. I am sticking with tees and shorts as long as the temps are warm.

 

I got my Pfizer booster this week, I encourage all to get the booster when they can.

 

Have a great week all!

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Got the Pfizer booster today.  Now I'll feel a little safer (both for me and him) around my 5 year old grandson.  Went out to lunch afterwards.  Went to a burger joint.  It was frigid inside but luckily a few tables were outside.  Warmer there.  Temp was about 70 or 71 and a little breezy.  They could save some money by cutting the a/c back a bit.  Felt like I was in the refrigerator when placing my order!

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Things down under... are very much Groundhog Day... been in Lockdown since August the 5th   ending ?? could be late October...   this is our 6th Lockdown.....

 

All holiday have been canceled... not worth booking anything....  since the start of Covid and our last cruise in Dec 2019 have escaped the City 3 times

 

Twice to a rural cottage for a few days which was great... then rented an apartment down the coast 3 hours from home for 2 week... and got caught in a snap lockdown for 3 weeks there, so stayed 4 weeks in all, but could only go for food shopping and a walk, at least we had a great view....

 

So how are thing were we are.....   Loosing track of days, nothing planned and watching the Covid case numbers go up.... at least we have had our two shots of vaccine...

 

Frankly... getting tied of it all,  basically have lost 2 years... and can't really see the light at the end of tunnel.... maybe the train has stopped....

 

Stay save everybody       Don

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Loosing track of days?   We do that too!  Wake up and try to remember if it’s Sunday with two newspapers, a Thursday masquerading as a Friday, or Wednesday trash day.  For the longest time I attributed it to being retired but realized we are so isolated the day of the week has pretty much become meaningless.  We’ll, except for trash day, and Sunday mornings when Formula 1 racing is on live early in the morning.

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11 hours ago, getting older slowly said:

Things down under... are very much Groundhog Day... been in Lockdown since August the 5th   ending ?? could be late October...   this is our 6th Lockdown.....

 

All holiday have been canceled... not worth booking anything....  since the start of Covid and our last cruise in Dec 2019 have escaped the City 3 times

 

Twice to a rural cottage for a few days which was great... then rented an apartment down the coast 3 hours from home for 2 week... and got caught in a snap lockdown for 3 weeks there, so stayed 4 weeks in all, but could only go for food shopping and a walk, at least we had a great view....

 

So how are thing were we are.....   Loosing track of days, nothing planned and watching the Covid case numbers go up.... at least we have had our two shots of vaccine...

 

Frankly... getting tied of it all,  basically have lost 2 years... and can't really see the light at the end of tunnel.... maybe the train has stopped....

 

Stay save everybody       Don

How do businesses survive with all the lockdowns?  Does your government pay them to stay closed?  Here we only had a lockdown for part of March and April 2020.  We are pretty much back to normal now with only one business I frequent requiring masks.  If it weren't for my volunteer job I would lose track of the days too.  Retirement will do that to a person.

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